Your Creative Partner

A Chicago web and graphic design company

Tag: SEO

The website for a Chicago wedding officiant I gave a sneak peak to a few days ago is now live.

This was a re-design project of an original site that had been created on Wix…an easy to use website creator but lacking in functionality and true internet marketing (SEO) capabilities. Here is a quick snap shot of the site prior to redesign, note the mobile version looks completely different from the desktop version.

Client, Toni Maddi , was very keen to keep the ability to update the website herself but really wanted a site where she could have full control of SEO. WordPress was the natural answer and it was this platform we used to build a fully responsive website for her wedding officiant business.

We created a very clean looking template design and updated the color palette a little. Toni had lots of fabulous photographs of wedding ceremonies she had conducted and these were used liberally throughout the site. All the pages were optimized for the search engines and we built specific landing pages for the locations and areas she serves.

The template was coded to respond to whatever device was being used to view it giving the visitor a consistent experience regardless of device they were using.

Here it is on an ipad

and again on an iphone

The site has been live for less than 24hrs but I have just heard from Toni that she has already received an inquiry through it!

We have work with businesses all over the country on web and graphic design projects, but it is especially rewarding working with businesses based in our local vicinity. Our newest client, Paper Shower, is located right here in Lincolnshire IL .

Launched yesterday was a redesigned version of their web site papershower.com

Paper Shower offers a range of unique body wipes which combine a large wet wipe with a dry towelette and are great for active people who are looking to freshen up on the go – bikers, runners, while camping, hiking and traveling or even on the golf course.

Why Redesign?

There are several reasons for the need to redesign a web site and the old Paper Shower site fulfilled quite a few.

Firstly the site was making the visitors work too hard to understand the product, it was only after clicking through from the home page that the concept of the product having both a wet and dry towelette became obvious.

Secondly, almost no consideration had been made as to who the product was being marketed towards – it was too generic.

Lastly the site was not at all optimized for the search engines, the home page itself was a collection of images and as a whole had very little keyword rich copy. Ranking in the search engines was poor and traffic was minimal despite great PR coverage the product has had over the last few years.

Our Web Re-Design Approach

Understanding the issues facing the old site helped us create a strategy for the re-design and re-launch of the new site.

Competitive Analysis

Any SEO project needs to kick off with a through understanding of the online competition. We took an in depth look at other body wipe websites and our analysis resulted in the compilation a list of favorable key phrases.

Web Content
We wanted to address several things with the web content

Communicate the uniqueness of the product in a simple format that did not require the user any effort

Engage with the target market of outdoorsy / active people

Add more call to actions to purchase product

Enrich it with target key words and phrase for SEO benefits

We started with the creation of a set of web banners that incorporated the product and an outdoor scenario or an occasion where the product would be useful. Each banner also carried the phrase Wash > Dry > Done, which was elaborated on with keyword rich copy underneath which quickly and easily explained the product.

The home page was updated to include more details of the product range and examples of who may find the product useful. We used video and client testimonials throughout the site for easily digestible communication.

For better engagement with the target audience we created a set of landing pages

A good website is a “living” marketing tool that can evolve to accommodate different approaches to engage with it’s users. Our long standing client, The Rockwood, a St Louis retirement community, understands this and recently asked us to revisit their site and make suggestions on how it could be improved.

The site has now been overhauled so it performs better in the search engines and offers interactions with it’s users through social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. We also built them a custom WordPress blog which was seamlessly integrated into the site.

Gone are the days when people would use the trusty old “yellow pages” to search for services they require. Now the first port of call is the internet and many times will turn to an online local directory such as Yelp.

Does your business have a local search presence? Getting listed in local online directories can help the overall ranking of your site and give you more opportunities to connect with potential customers.

There has been a real growth in local directories over the last couple of years and generally getting listed in them is easy…although quite time consuming.

I am working with long a long standing client at the moment to convert her website to be powered by the WordPress platform. Her current site is constructed of static HTML pages and a blogger powered blog but the conversion will put everything under one roof and give her much more control of not only her blog posts but the rest of her site too.

Pros of using WordPress?

CMS: WordPress is a powerful content management system and gives you complete control to update the content your website yourself instead of relying on your web designer.

Design: The design options in WordPress are limitless. There are plenty of free templates around but with some technical knowledge a completely custom look can be created and you are not limited to using an identical template across every page on your site

Pages: With a self hosted WordPress installation there is no limit to the number of pages you can have on your site, pages can be easily ordered, sorted into menus and even hidden. The look and feel of pages can also be changed by apply a different template to the page.

SEO: Compared to blogger WordPress offers much better SEO ( search engine optimization) functionality. Using a plugin like ” All in one SEO”, enables each blog post to be given a search engine friendly title, description and set of keywords. The same functionality can also be applied to pages

Users: You can set up administrator, editor, author and contributor accounts, which allow different users different levels of access to the site.

Cons of Using WordPress?

The main con of using WordPress, for a client, is the learning curve associated with the administrative dashboard. It is definitely more complex than Blogger but we offer comprehensive training on posting, editing and uploading images/files etc.

Ready to move?

Do you have a static web site or blog that could benefit from power of the WordPress platform? We can make the transition as seamless as possible. Contact us today for a free evaluation of your site or blog/

Here is a list of 7 things you, as a small business owner, can do TODAY, to increase the visibility of your web site. The better visibility, the better rankings in the search engines . End result more site visitors.

Start a Blog
Google’s blogger or WordPress.com are both good candidates for the novice blogger. They are easy to setup and require no technical knowledge . Ideally your blog should be integrated into your web site and given the same look/ feel for a seamless branded image (we can definitely help you with this). However having a standalone blog gives you a great platform to test the blogging waters and find your voice. Write regular blog posts relevant to your business expertise or product offering and make sure to create linksto your web site. Here are some articles on blogging which will help you get the most out of your blog.

Comment on blog postsCommenting on blog posts is a great way to increase the visibility of your site. A fitting comment and a relevant link to your site where applicable can lead to considerable traffic. Tread carefully though and do not spam.

Open a Twitter accountTwitter is a micro blogging tool, each Tweet, or post can have a maximum of 140 characters. Spend a little time setting up your profile which can include a picture, an all important link to your web site and a short bio. Next find some people to follow using the tools offered on the Twitter web site, then tweet away. The more you interact the more you will get of Twitter.

Create a Facebook Fan Page for your businessTo get started with Facebook you first need to create a personal account. Then visit this page https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
Select a good name and populate the info section of the profile with your business information. You are now free to start sharing your thoughts, ideas, products, links, video and anything else you think is relevant to your business via the Facebook status window. You will need to build up your fan base so include a Facebook “like button” wherever you can e.g In your email signature, on your blog, on your web site.

Get listed on YELPYelp is a local directory allowing users to search for all sorts of services, everything from hair dressers to website designers. Once you are a member (free) you can post reviews on any listing.See our listing on Yelp

Pin something on PinterestIf you have visually appealing images on your website particularly if they relate to your products or services e.g You are a landscaper and have a portfolio of completed landscape projects, Pinterest is a great place to share them. Pinterest is one of the newest and fastest growing social media platforms. It is a virtual pin board allowing you to organize and share all the fabulous images you find on the web. Boards and images can be shared and repined .
Check out our profile on Pinterest

Do you have a Twiter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google or any other social network profile? Are you getting the full SEO (search engine optimization) potential from these profiles? Here are a few tips to maximize the possibilities they offer.

Direct Links

On just about every social networking site, when setting up your profile you will have the opportunity to link to at least one external web site. Make sure you fill out those sections and test then once your profile is live. Links you may want to consider adding are your company web site, blog or links to your other social profiles.

Search Engine Page Results (SERP)
Building a robust profile and not just completing the “bare minimum” can really help dominate the search engine page results. The more information you can add to your profile the better, you are building authority. It is also important to not just build your profile but participate within the network too. Here is a simple example of a Google search on my name, the social networks dominate the return of the search.

Brand Awareness
Present yourself in a consistent way across all social media networks so there is no emotional disconnect for users visiting more than one of your social network profiles and getting confused brand message. Make sure your web site has links to all your social media platforms.

Drive Traffic
When participating in social media promote links in posts or tweets. The more useful the information you share the more others will re tweet or share which can build considerable traffic to targeted pages on your site.

Content
Delivery top quality content on your web site is so important for getting it to rank well in the search engines. Conversations, comments and ideas generated within your social media network can be great inspiration for blog posts or site content in general and help keep your content fresh and up to date.

Since moving to Chicago I have been busy networking and last week met with a very interesting local business that offers video production for the web. Adding a video element to an online marketing strategy can reap huge returns. While many samll business owners are eager to jump on the video bandwagon, once they have their video what do they do with it?

We now offer video internet marketing services and what better way to present them than a video!

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, blogging. Are you getting bogged down in managing your social networks? They can become like black holes consuming your precious working hours, sucking away minutes here and minutes there. Before you know it you have spent half your working day tweeting about this and that and checking your Facebook page.

Here are a few tips to keep your sanity.

Set aside specific time(s) maybe once or twice a day to engage in your social networks. Once your time is up, shut them down and get on with your work. Set a timer if that helps.

Configure each application so updates are not emailed to you, this can be very distracting.

Use an application like Hootsuite which allows you to manage multiple social network profiles. You can also monitor particular key words/phrases, and even pre schedule tweets and status updates.

Relax! Social networking is not about how many followers you have, how often you tweet or how fast you respond. Ask yourself why you take part in social networking, what is your master plan? Stick to that plan.